Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Last week I received lots of homegrown Meyer lemons - tart, bitter, sweet, and very juicy. Thank you, K.

So I added salt to some, and preserved them thus.

Marmalade on L, Preserved on R.

And I added sugar to some more.
Specifically, I cut up one grapefruit and many lemons to make 12C, added 1.5Q water, soaked, cooked and added 1C+9C raw+white sugar to yield eight-12oz plus one-10oz jars marmalade.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

After a week, I finished and blocked "Blue Whale" designed by Stephen West and commissioned by A Verb for Keeping Warm (AVFKW)'s Proverbial Club. 75/25 bluefaced-leicester/tussah-silk "Luster" was indigo dyed by AVFKW and left its blue trails on my hands - a sign of work and accomplishment that washed off with soap and water after each session. As I blocked this shawl I marvelled at the design of the shape, in which I see the whale's fluke greeting me. There is comfort and satisfaction in this work. Thank you, Kristine.

This past weekend I received 12 beautiful Fuyu persimmons from the family tree and processed 7 of them into 5 pints of brandied persimmons. Added my own mixture of flavors: star anise, cardamom and lemon.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Persimmons, aka "fruit of the gods", originated in Asia and are centuries old. I am fortunate to have access to homegrown and lovingly tended Fuyu persimmons from a family tree which produces a bumper crop of HUGE fruit every two years.

3 large crisp-ripe Fuyu persimmons yield three 12oz jars of brandied persimmons.
This post will be updated as production increases and images are developed.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

The quince is a very old fruit. It was cited around 600BC by the Greeks and Romans, and it is a component of middle eastern cuisine. The raw quince fruit is very fragrant, but the flesh is dry, astringent, and very hard. It is transformed with heat and becomes supple and edible. A little sugar doesn't hurt, either.

5 large quince is about 1kg gross and yields 6C quince and ginger.
6.75 large quince is about 800g net, and yields 5C quince, orange and cardamom.
1.25 large quince yields 2C quince jam.